Australia CH
by NocturneAngel
Summary: A nice, by-the-book Hellboy adventure, including a big monster, people in need of saving, a gooey fight and some cuddling in the end. Hellboy/OC, Abe/OC, with OC:s like you've never seen them before.
1. Chapter 1

**Australian wilderness, 86 miles west of Townsville**

**2,16 PM, January 18 2006**

"Something's wrong." Hellboy didn't think he'd ever herd Abe's voice sound as sharp as when the tanned bushman returned from the river, hat in his hand and sweat on his brow.

Even the demon - who'd often been blamed for being insensitive and rude - could tell that there was a change in the atmosphere, and beside him, Abe rose.

"Something's wrong", the amphibian repeated, lower, more to himself, "terribly wrong." He seemed to hesitate, whether or not to raise his hand and see if he could sense anything, even before Heathrow had returned. There was something tingling Hellboy's neck as well. A dull, gnawing feeling that told him Abe was right.

For a moment, Hellboy lost the world as he swiftly browsed his mind for what could've happened. Someone could've fallen into the river, they could have been trapped beneath a tree that the storm had ripped from the ground. Or something else. The look of things spoke for it.

Hellboy was roughly snatched out of his worried thoughts as Abe gasped, eyes wide, and he withdrew his hand like something had burned him.

"Heathrow!" The amphibian was striding towards the bushman, leaving no explanation to Red. "Heathrow, where's Kadë? Where are Kadë and Gloria?"

This was when Hellboy realised that their two fellow agents hadn't returned with the guide. He'd expected them to come a few moments after the man, talking among themselves about whatever mystery they'd laid their hands on. But they didn't.

"Mr Sapien", Heathrow had stopped as Abe approached him, and was now using his hat for a fan, panting slightly in the Australian heat. His brow was knit, and the lips withdrawn as he breathed like he'd been running all the way back to the camp. "You guys were right", he continued, gazing from Abe to Hellboy with narrowed eyes. "The cave is open."

"It _was_ a cave?" Hellboy put over his weight to the other hoof. They'd now been sure what to expect when they investigated the scene of destruction, caused by the hurricane of the century.

"Yeah, barricaded from the outside for a hundred - two hundred - years, and within it.." this didn't sound to good, "The biggest one I've ever seen. Must've been thirty-five, no, forty feet long!" He was rapidly growing upset, breathing harder and harder, and now, Abe raised a hand.

"Mr Heathrow, please tell us what happened to our friends."

The calm and melodic, yet still urging voice seemed to have impact on the bushman, who instantly spoke slower.

"I'm sorry. We were standing on the shore when it came out. And, and.. Miss McTrevor, she.."

He looked for words, and now Hellboy was growing worried. And impatient.

"_What_ happened to her?"

"There must've been loose soil under her, for when.. Imagine how huge waves there were when it swam! The ground just collapsed under her."

Now, things suddenly started to make sense.

"She fell in the river?"

"Yeah, and then.."

He could feel his own, immediate reaction. Hellboy's muscles tensed so much it hurt when he worked to keep himself from setting off in the direction of the river. Heart beat harder. Adrenaline was being pumped into his blood.

Gloria was in danger - grave danger - and Kadë had probably stayed to help her. Yeah, that must be what happened. Gloria was hurt, or shocked, or both, and Kadë was treating her back on the shore, and she'd sent Heathrow to get help.

There were no reason to get so worked up, Hellboy told himself. Kadë had been trained to handle dangerous and stressed situations, so she'd probably only sent Heathrow to get Hellboy to carry Gloria. But still.. Kadë was telekinetic, she could very well do that herself.

"What are you saying?!" Abe practically yelled at the poor man. Surely, Hellboy's wrath was horrible to deal with, but Abe was normally so gathered and calm, that it often shocked people more to see him upset.

"Miss Halosynde dove into the river, tried to help her, and it kept coming at them." Maybe he'd defined "it", but in that case, Hellboy hadn't noticed. Beside him, Abe was breathing heavily, and his hands were clenched into fists. This was definitely _not_ good. And the next words from the bushman confirmed Hellboy's suspicions. "They swam for shore, naturally, but it was so fast. I didn't see very much - too much water and muck being tossed in the air, but I think the croc got them both."


	2. Chapter 2

It felt like being punched in the guts with his own Right Hand of Doom. Hellboy stood, snorting through his nose for every breath, and beside him, Abe stared, gaping and with his dark eyes wider than ever before.

"Why didn't you tell us this immediately?" Hellboy demanded, but he hardly finished the question when the amphibian had made a frustrated sound very unlike him, and then set off in the direction of the river. "..Abe? Abe! _Argh_!" Hellboy let hear words that even got the rough bushman Heathrow staring, and then he turned to the startled human. "Go fetch his belt with the gun. Bring extra ammunition for me - in the inner pocket of my bag."

He didn't wait for a response, instead, Hellboy ran after Abe as fast as his hooves could carry him. Surely, the fish-man might be the most intelligent person on the team, and mostly, he kept his head cool. But hearing that the woman you love probably has been eaten by a twelve meter crocodile.. That could toss anyone off their feet.

The only reason Hellboy hadn't run away there and dived into the water as well, was that he knew Abe was with him, and the friend was obviously a better swimmer.

But he worried, of course he did. Or, worry wasn't the right word. Bloody, downright fear clenched his heart and seemed to freeze his ribs so Hellboy's entire chest grew cold as he ran in the direction Heathrow had come from, tall grass whipping the skin around his knees, and branches slapping his face.

Approaching the river, he could make out Abe's silhouette a few meters in front of him, pushing bigger branches out of the way as he ran. When he came close to the water, the amphibian slowed down, looking around in a way that reminded of a startled deer, and then he crouched a little, making ready to haul himself into the water.

"Abe, come on!" There wasn't the least sign of movement on the surface, but still he wanted to dive in, look for the girls immediately in the mocha water. Hellboy finally reached him, clasping his upper arm in his hand. "Cut it, in won't help!"

The amphibian struggled for a short moment, and then he relaxed in Hellboy's grip, sighing.

"I'm sorry, Red", the voice was as usual, only frailer than normal. He took a deep breath, and then another one, his shoulder slowly sinking down so he looked helpless instead. Abe shook his head. "I just couldn't help it."

Then, it was Hellboy's turn to shake his head, and he put his human, left hand on the friend's shoulder. "Don't worry 'bout it. Just don't do it again. I'll need you to find them."

Abe nodded, and they understood each other the way close friends do. Abe was sorry for losing control, but he was scared for Kadë's sake, just as scared as Hellboy was for Gloria. Perhaps even more. Hellboy had had two girlfriends before - Kate and Anastasia - but this was Abe's first love, and he was petrified at the thought of losing her.

But they couldn't let fear hinder their thinking now. It was more important than ever to keep their heads cool and figure out a way to find the girls - and fast.

Heathrow was bringing the guns, and that was good. But simple bullets wouldn't do much on a forty feet crocodile, unless they hit its eyes. No chance Hellboy could manage that. Abe might, but he needed to be concentrated, and seeing the monster eating his girlfriend would certainly distract him.

They had no backup more less than four days away, and Kadë would hold her breath at most for eight to ten minutes - depending on how much she moved around. Gloria wouldn't even manage half of that time.

No, they had to come up with something they could do, just the two of them. They could search the river. Hellboy on one side, Heathrow on the other, and Abe in the water. But there was the risk that the crocodile was still there, and they had to be awfully careful. They could also go into the cave - with an even greater risk of meeting the croc, but probably finding the girls immediately, if the monster had managed to pull them under to drown them, as its kind did. Then, they would be badly wounded or dead, and Hellboy instinctively wanted to search the shores first, just because that didn't mean admitting to himself that Gloria was most likely lizard food by now.

But that would take time, and if Kadë or Gloria was alive in the cave, but hurt, they would very well drown or bleed to death as they searched the area. And the same thing worked the other way around. If they searched the cave, the girls could be dying on the shore without them noticing before it was too late.

It was a bloody dilemma.

A rustling in the bushes had Hellboy put his hand on the Samaritan. He didn't know how much noise a crocodile of that size would make, but he imagined it would be quite some.

Luckily, it was only Heathrow coming panting towards them, Abe's heavy utility belt in one hand, and a box of ammunition to the Samaritan in the other.

As the amphibian strapped his belt tightly around his hips, and Hellboy poured the ammo into a pouch on his own, they shared a look that told Hellboy Abe had been wrestling the same problem as him.

They were silent, fiercely focused in a way that seemed to freak Heathrow out, and with a sigh, Hellboy decided he had to sacrifice some of the precious time to explain to him. If the bushman didn't understand what they were doing, he wouldn't be of much use.

"Two things we could do, since backup is so far away", he said, holding the guide's gaze firmly. "Either we search the cave the monster came from, taking the risk that the girls might have made it to shore, and are bleeding to death there. Or we search the shore, and take the risk that they might be in the cave, dying in there. Or we split up, and you and Abe search the river, and I search the cave, but that makes it more dangerous to meet the croc."

Heathrow seemed scared at the thought of splitting up, but he tried not to show that, since it was probably the best way to find the girls. Instead, he nodded, putting on a brave look. Hellboy liked that about him.

He was just about to conclude, stating that they should split up to go looking, when a whimpering sound was herd from Abe. When Hellboy turned to his friend, the amphibian was staring at something in the river, handgun in one hand and magazine in the other, as he'd been checking them.

Hellboy felt like the entire world had gone cold. As much as he didn't want to know what Abe was staring at, making him sound like that, he couldn't stand not looking.

At first, Hellboy didn't see what was so painful about the broken branch floating slowly downriver, bobbing with the gentle current. But then he saw it. Tangled in the twigs were straps of leather and black jeans fabric. The demon held his breath as he noticed the bite marks in the wood, and Abe winced when he once again spotted something a nanosecond before his friend. Half a foot from the bite marks, the branch was coloured crimson.

The three men watched in silence as more straps of ripped fabric came floating down the river, along with whirls of bright red in the brown water.

He wished the whole world could just go away. It felt like.. like he didn't feel anything at all. Shock had dulled his emotions off, and in all honestly, Hellboy was grateful for that. He would feel like crap later or when he came home, but now, he didn't feel at all. Instead, he was filled with an incredible resolution.

"Heathrow, where's that cave you spoke of?"

"Up river", the guide answered, not taking his eyes from a torn BPRD logo that was floating along with the other pieces of cloth.

A few steps closer to the river, Abe was breathing faster and faster, his teeth gritted hard together - to prevent him from panicking again, Hellboy assumed.

"That's it. Blue, we start with the cave."

"Mh", Abe merely answered, nodding once, still staring. And then he took his eyes from the water, hands curled to fists once again. "Mr Heathrow, we can't ask you to come with us, though we would be grateful if you did."

Good ol' Blue, remembering things like that. Hellboy had simply taken for granted that the bushman would come along.

The man looked at Abe, and then Hellboy for a long while, saying nothing. And then, his eyes turned to the ripped clothes and swirls of blood floating out of sight, and he nodded.

"I'll come with you. After all, I liked those girls."

That was good, but Hellboy wanted to smack him in the face. _Liked_. He assumed they were already dead. And in all honesty; so should they.

"Thanks", Hellboy looked him in the eyes, despite the bad feelings for the way the man spoke of Gloria and Kadë, he tried to convert all the gratitude he felt for having a professional crocodile hunter with him when they went looking for the victims of the hugest crocodile the world had ever seen into one look, that he shot over to the bushman. He wasn't sure Heathrow understood the full meaning of the gaze, but he understood enough, and nodded in return.

"You lead the way, pal."

Again, Heathrow nodded, and the three of them started to walk up river.


	3. Chapter 3

The first thing Gloria was aware of, was that a hand was rocking her gently. The second that she lay on something cold, wet and hard. Then she realised her entire body ached, her head being worst, she thought.

"..ria, wake up. Please? I need your help."

Kadë's voice was shrill, pained and the hand that tried to wake Gloria up was trembling.

"Mmh.." At least it was a sign that she was coming to senses. Gloria's eyelids fluttered, but her gaze met nothing but complete darkness.

"Gloriaa.." There was a pleading tune to her voice, and the English woman struggled to come to her senses.

"Kadë", she was finally able to articulate, and she heard the fellow agent sigh from relief, and then a wince of pain.

"You awake?"

Gloria tried to nod, but there was a flash of pain, and then everything went black again.

Kadë drew a deep breath, feeling tears coming in her eyes when she did so. She had already been crying, lost and hurt in the darkness, but now, her mind focused on the task of waking the friend up. Or, at least she tried.

Cupping her hand, Kadë scooped up a few drops of water, letting them drip onto Gloria's face, saying her name again.

"Gloria, come _on_!" The world was swirling around her, shaking and twisting, and she knew it wasn't a good sign.

Kadë could thank two things that she was still alive. First, that old, dry branch she'd clung to when the giant crocodile had made the water twist up to down and the opposite. Because she managed to get that deeper into the lizard's mouth, it hadn't been able to snap her in two at the waist. Second, was her thick leather belt, which was probably floating downstream or lay on the bottom of the river by now. That was the only thing that had prevented the huge teeth not to rip her guts out as she got stuck between the croc's jaws.

If those two elements hadn't been there, she'd be dead.

But even though they'd shielded her, Kadë sat swaying with her arm pressed to a one-foot wound in her side, desperately trying to wake her friend up.

No vital organs were damaged, she thought, but a rib or two must've cracked, and of course she was bleeding abundantly.

Bending the crocodile's mouth open with her bare hands had sliced her palms with deep cuts. Being able to see the bones and tendons in her hands when she opened them wasn't something Kadë liked, so she tried no to think about it.

"Gloria, please.." she was about to start crying again. Like it weren't enough that she was in horrible pain, she'd also forced herself to examine the friend, making sure her neck didn't break when the huge lizard kicked her in the head. Feeling for broken bones and looking for open wounds. And now Gloria wouldn't wake up, leaving Kadë alone in the dark and the cold.

A moan made the young Turkish woman blink and look down, fresh tears trailing down her cheeks.

Gloria's brow was knit, and she moved her lips like she tried to say something.

"Gloria? Oh, come on, _please_ wake up."

Her eyes opened, though clouded, and Kadë waited this time.

"Don't move your head, I don't know how bad that impact took on your skull", she tried to stay professional, but it was goddamn hard.

"..impact?" Gloria repeated, apparently not knowing what Kadë was talking about.

"You got kicked in the head. By the bloody biggest crocodile I've ever seen. Your thighbone is broken too, so don't try to sit up until you're a little more awake."

"Mmh.."

Silence, Kadë waited, swaying and shaking and sweating though the room was cold.

"Where are we?" Gloria finally asked. Good, she seemed a little more aware of her surroundings now.

"In the cave, I think. Remember? It had opened when the hurricane was here."

After a few seconds, Gloria moaned an agreement. Yes, she remembered.

"Listen, Gloria, I need help."

"Mhm?"

"I've got a wound in my side. Just a flesh wound, I think - no guts - but it's bloody painful and I think I'm bleeding to death."

These sarcastic, yet true words made Gloria jerk, and the second after, the movement was followed by a low cry of pain, as she'd accidentally rubbed the ends of the broken bone against each other. At least she didn't faint again.

"There.." Kadë gently put her hand on Gloria's arm. In secret, just as much for support as for comforting her. She was breathing heavily now. Though Kadë _knew_ she was getting air, she just felt more and more choked.

"Gloria.. I'm gonna try to help you sit up. I'll hold your leg as still as I can, but I can't guarantee it'll be completely pain free. Okay?"

_God_, she was tired. Kadë honestly doubted she'd have enough energy left to telekinetically lift Gloria to an upright position against the cave wall close to them. She'd have to try. It might be their only chance of survival.

"Mh", Gloria blinked a couple of times, and her eyes slowly grew clearer. One could tell on her that she braced herself, gritting her teeth and holding her breath against the pain that would come.

And there was pain. A lot of it. Kadë didn't manage to lift her completely, since her mind mostly was fixed on holding the broken bone still. In the end, the weakened powers half carried, half dragged a squirming Gloria to the wall, sitting her up, and then Kadë crawled over there herself, falling together in a pile of trembling muscles.

The world was spinning. Big time. Kadë worked hard to calm her breathing, and to relax every time her strained body tensed in protest of what was happening. But it didn't work. Slowly, but surely, the walls of the cave faded away into the darkness that engulfed everything else around them.

"There you go. That's it.." something was dripping into Kadë's mouth and down her chin. Disgustingly warm water, but at least it was clean, and after a matter of seconds, she was coughing not to make it trail down her throat and into her lunges. And then, she groaned with pain, biting her own tongue.

"Nice and easy", Gloria's voice mumbled as her face slowly became visible before Kadë's eyes.

"What happened?"

While she answered, the Turkish agent slowly became more and more aware of her surrounding, the same way Gloria did before. The cave walls, making what looked almost like a little nest of hard rock, available through a tunnel big enough to hold a medium size car, but with an opening, that Kadë had had difficulty pressing herself through.

There was water, running in through the tunnel, and into a pool in the cave. Water that was maybe one, one and a half meters deep. Kadë also faintly remembered openings into other caves in the tunnel, some so big, a truck would've easily gotten through, some so small her own hips would get stuck.

"You fainted", Gloria answered her question. She sounded more awake now, more aware of their situation. "I strapped up the wound as much as I could, but I didn't clean it. Not enough water." With a little grimace, she raised her field bottle, and wiggled it. The sound told Kadë it might be half-full. Perhaps less.

There was a provisory bandage around her waist, made out of Gloria's t-shirt, and the remains of Kadë's own. It was already bled through, but it didn't drip or anything, so Kadë assumed it worked.

"Kadë.." now, Gloria's voice was a lot less secure, and she had turned off the working-tune. "I think that thing is still out there", she gestured against the opening to the cave, and Kadë nodded slowly.

In the silence that followed, they listened. There was the sound of dripping and streaming water, enhanced and echoing in the caves. The sound of birds far, far away, out in the open. And in some seconds Kadë could hear what Gloria meant. There was a low rumbling sound, that last for a few seconds, halted, and then started again. It took a little while, but then, Kadë realised it was something immensely big breathing.

"You're right", her voice had dropped as well, and she was whispering. The young woman highly doubted that the crocodile could squeeze its way through the same opening she and Gloria had come through, but she didn't remember id the walls were thick or not. Maybe it could just break though the solid rock.

Fearing the thought of dragging the giant croc's attention to them, Gloria and Kadë sat quiet. Kadë had leaned to the cave wall as well, shaking slightly from blood loss, but still staying awake. Gloria had found that if she didn't move the slightest, it wouldn't hurt, and the tried to hold her position completely. Her head throbbed, and in a place close to her right temple, something just felt horribly wrong. She couldn't feel any pain at that spot, but it felt like.. like it shouldn't be the way it was. It was hard to explain.

One other thing had her on the edge all the time as well. Gloria had to tell herself constantly, she wasn't alone. But not being able to talk, it was still horrible. Outside, she could hear the breathing of the monster that'd almost killed them both, and Kadë had still not explained how they'd gotten in here, but she couldn't as long as it was still there. Cold sweat trailed its way down her spine, as Gloria worked against the fear of being all alone - or almost - in a cramped, dark place, with something big that wanted to eat them outside.

At her side, Kadë made a little sound that was a mix between a sob and a whimper.

Gazing sideways at her, Gloria could see she'd pulled her legs tight to her body, arms around her knees, and silent tears was slowly finding their way down her cheeks.

Kadë was afraid of the dark. Gloria knew that. And she was afraid of being lonely. Reaching out a hand, she gently touched Kadë's hand, and the younger woman turned at her, forcing forth a little smile.

And then they waited, hurt and scared, for a rescue that might not come.


	4. Chapter 4

"There it is", Heathrow pointed, and Hellboy's eyes narrowed as he tried to spot the entrance to the cave the guide had been talking about.

"Mm", Abe's little melodic sound was herd just as Hellboy saw it. At first, it only looked like a rock shooting out from the shore a little, with wild grass and vines and roots hanging from it, but at a closer look, you could tell that the darkness under the stone wasn't only shadow, but an opening into the shore.

"You don't have to go any further", Hellboy said, probing his pockets for heavy things but finding only a couple of them, which he dropped to the ground. By his side, Abe was doing the same thing. "Actually, I advise you not to", the half demon shook his head, and straightened up, "it'll be messy."

He glanced Abe's way, and the amphibian nodded. They were both upset, worried and pissed off, and the fight that seemed inevitable wasn't going to be pretty.

"We honestly don't want you to come along", Abe said, dropping down his own possessions in a far neater pile than Hellboy's. "It'll be dark and wet and Hellboy and I know each others' fighting styles, so we can avoid one another. You, on the other hand, may get hurt, since we don't know how you move." Hellboy raised an eyebrow. It wasn't like Abe to be so brutally honest. "And the second, we need you to go back to the camp, use the satellite phone we left there, and call a number marked HQ. Ask for Tom Manning, tell them we sent you, and tell him what happened."

Heathrow nodded, and uttered Hellboy's precise thoughts.

"Fair enough." The guide clicked his rifle shut and offered it to Abe. "You want this? It makes big holes."

Abe shook his head, and Hellboy answered in his stead.

"You'll need it, pal. What if the croc isn't in there?" He nodded towards the cave opening, noting in the corner of his eye that Abe too was all set and ready to go.

"Right." He pulled the rifle a little closer, nodding. "Well, good luck, then." He looked from Abe to Hellboy to Abe again. "Call HQ, ask for Tom Manning, you guys sent me, tell him what happened."

"Precisely", Abe nodded, and was making it for the water. "Red?"

Hellboy grimaced as he got into the brown river. It's for Gloria, he told himself. For Gloria and for Kadë.

"You _breathe_ this?"

He raised a tainted left hand from the water, walking towards the cave with Abe following.

"It's not more polluted than the air, Red", the amphibian answered, seemingly undisturbed by the water's condition. "You can only see the dirt better here."

Hellboy made an unsatisfied grunt, shaking his head. He still didn't like it, but the thought of Gloria, broken and almost eaten, drove him on, pushing dusty roots aside and walking into a wide tunnel.

"Shh.." They'd been walking for a couple of minutes, and now, Hellboy became aware of a low, rumbling sound. "You hear that?"

Abe was quiet for a second, listening. "Mhm", he answered, and Hellboy heard the sound of how the amphibian clutched his gun harder, the little creak of the trigger as he curled his finger around it. "Further on and, I think, to the right."

Hellboy nodded. "Thinking the same."

They walked on, and the rumbling became louder. At first, Hellboy thought the crocodile was asleep and snoring, but then a cool hand took his shoulder.

"Shh.." Abe shook his head as Hellboy had jumped at the touch. "That's a breathing, we'll alert it." He raised a hand, and spread his webbed fingers, searching the area with his psychic powers.

Hellboy went cold as Abe frowned and his hand halted midair.

"Two pulses beside the crocodile's", the amphibian said slowly. "One weaker than the other", Hellboy pressed his lips together. "On the other side of that creature."

Hellboy clasped the Samaritan harder. "Let's go, then. I want to hit it. Hard and many times." He took a step, but once again, the cool hand held him back. "_What_?"

"You're too loud", Abe said softly. Had it been someone else, Hellboy would've beaten the poor fellow into a bloody mass, but since it was this special friend, he could manage being told something like that. "And since it echoes so bad, I figure it's in a tight tunnel. Let me lure it out first."

Hellboy nodded slowly. "And then I can hit it?"

"And then you can hit it", Abe confirmed, and Hellboy leaned back, clicking the Samaritan open to check the bullets one last time.

"If there is trouble.."

"I say Marco."

"And I say Polo." Hellboy shrugged. "But in this case, I reckon it'll be you, _screaming_ Marco, of something goes wrong."

"Hm", the melodic sound again as Abe lowered himself soundlessly in the water. "Most likely."

He soundlessly disappeared under the surface, and Hellboy could hardly discern the shape of his colleague and friend before he faded out of his vision.

Hellboy professionally scanned the cave, searching for a place that would be at least partly protected from a twelve meters crocodile. But then he realised.. such a big animal could break just about anything he hid behind, or crawled up on.

Through the opening, he herd Abe cursing.

"Marco!" The voice came just as much from the walkie-talkie as from the cave itself, and the second after there was the kind of wave that something swimming under water causes coming right at Hellboy.

He raised the Samaritan.

"It's me!" Abe's head broke the surface, but the call was drowned in the sound of ripping rock and breaking earth. Something roared. Something unbelievably big.

"Split up!" Hellboy immediately ran to the right, and Abe dove back in the water, setting off in the opposite direction.

And then it broke through the opening.

Rocks came shooting like deadly, head size bullets in all directions. Hellboy used words that would've made even Rasputin go pale as water and mud was thrown in his face and eyes, clouding his vision.

In all the mess, there was the sound of Abe firing his gun rapidly, and the monster roared even louder.

"Red!" The shrill voice was precisely audible over the noise. "Move to the left!"

Following the command from reflex, Hellboy ran through the waist-deep water before he even thought of which direction was left.

The sounds that echoed throughout the cave told him some part of the giant crocodile had hit the wall by the place he'd just left.

Firing without seeing anything, Hellboy pulled the trigger, aiming in that direction, and hearing the crocodile roar again.

"Did I hit it?"

"It's tail, close to the base." Judging from the direction his voice came from, Abe had moved again. "Don't fire again, It's moved out of the way."

The cave slowly grew still. Way too still, and Hellboy took the time to wipe the mud out of his eyes.

"Where'd it go?"

His every muscle was tense, and Abe looked the same from the other side of the cavelike tunnel.

"Under the surface", the amphibian's eyes were scanning the water, which was slowly settling. "I can't see it yet.. but there are little water movement, I don't think it's moving. Just wait, and look for waves. And don't move."

"Kadë.. Kadë, wake up!" Gloria still whispered, but in an urgent voice. She hadn't noticed the friend leaning her head to the English woman's shoulder, and slowly closing her eyes.

"Mmh.." Kadë sounded sleepy, but then there was a roar from the tunnel outside, and she jumped, her eyes snapping open, and then she pressed a hand to her side, moaning in pain. "..dammit."

"What was that?" Gloria felt her eyes go wide. The answer was simple, of course. The crocodile monster. But the words had slipped her before she'd thought them over.

There was a sound of rocks being crushed and broken, and for a moment, Gloria thought she felt the cave wall shake behind her back. She suddenly feared the roof would cave in on them, and the hand clutching hers told her Kadë thought the same.

"..condemn it to hell! _Marco_!"

Kadë drew a sharp breath as Abe's voice drifted in to them, echoing in the network of tunnels. And then followed a cascade of sounds, splashings and roars, gunfire and rocks flying here and there. Though you couldn't make out the words, Hellboy's and Abe's voices sometimes broke the other noise, and just like her, Kadë had grown rigid at Gloria's side, listening with all the intensity she could manage, but without being able to get out there and help.

"Abe! Into the water! _Get in the water_!" Hellboy raised the Samaritan, pointing straight at the crocodile's head and firing several rounds. Abe dove from reflex, the same way Hellboy had dodged from reflex before. They were so used to fighting alongside each other that they followed one another's commands before thinking them over, trusting the other with their lives every single second.

Hellboy looked around as the giant beast thrust his head from side to side, roaring in pain - and he spotted Abe breaking the surface by the cave wall, about ninety degrees to Hellboy's right. The amphibian was pressing a hand against his head, and blinked rapidly several times.

"You all right?" The half-demon asked as he reloaded his gun, not taking his eyes from the crocodile, which didn't seem to see them.

"I'm fine, just a little dizzy." Abe straightened up. "I think I got its eye", he added, swiftly changing magazine in his own handgun, and then waving to see if the monstrous lizard could see his movements. It didn't react.

"So its right side is safe?" Hellboy was now moving slowly, in order to change positions from where his voce was last herd. He didn't know how good hearing a crocodile had.

"So it seems. Strategy?" It was a question, showing that Abe needed help coming up with something. "I don't think my gun will make enough damage to kill it. Yours might."

"But I'm a lousy marksman", Hellboy answered, halting as he reached the crocodile's tail. The brown water were getting red from blood, and it was amazing the big animal could still show such strength. "And I think the Bureau will want it alive."

Abe looked like he was close to snatching "Screw that", but he halted himself. "That's true", he answered instead, lowering himself to his knees in the water. "But during the current circumstances, our primary objective is to find and help our team mates." He shrugged at the official words. "Or, that's at least what I'm gonna write in the report."

"I'm with you on that one. You distract?"  
"And you take aim. A good aim, I don't want to be crocodile dinner tonight."

"Gotcha. You go south?"

Abe nodded, and then, without warning, the whole thing started. Hellboy had seen it, in his friend's eyes narrowing a little, before he took a dive, not south but into the cave, downwards, so to say.

At the sudden movement, suddenly within its vision, the crocodile roared and turned, set off in Abe's direction.

The amphibian swam in the surface, making as much noise and big movements he could to attract the monster's attention, and Hellboy took aim, slowly and steadily, in a way he'd never liked. It felt too much like an execution.

As Abe pressed through a narrow opening in the tunnel wall, the crocodile was halted, and Hellboy methodically squeezed the trigger.

The blow took its eye, perfectly, and the huge lizard seemed to freeze at the spot as Hellboy emptied the Samaritan into the giant skull.

And then it roared again, turning to Hellboy, now blinded and with only the fading and echoing sound of the gunshots to guide it.

"Crap!" Dropping the Samaritan to get both his hands free, Hellboy backed against the wall, and then precisely caught the tips of the monster jaws in his hands, holding it back as it slammed him against the rock.

But the crocodile didn't press on long. After a few seconds, Hellboy could feel the pressure easing, and then, with a strangely creaking sound, the giant body slowly fell to the right, splashing into the water and spreading waves throughout the tunnel. But it didn't move again.


	5. Chapter 5

"Is it dead?" Abe pressed himself back though the opening. It was so narrow he had to walk sideways, and he had scratches on his shoulders and chest.

"Yeah.." Hellboy was panting through parted lips, and he stepped away from the wall, grimacing at the pain in his back. "I'm gonna be sore in the morning", he muttered, mostly to himself.

"This way", Abe had taken a moment to collect himself, and scanned the network of tunnels and caves with a raised hand.

Now, he was walking back the same way the crocodile had come from, and Hellboy wasn't late to follow.

"In there", the amphibian said, after a moment of silence. He always seemed to speak in short sentences when using his powers, like he struggled to put words on different feelings and impressions. Abe closed his eyes, like bracing himself. "One of the two pulses have grown weaker", his voice was faint, "I sense a great deal of pain, and.." he smelled the air. "There are blood."

So the one of the girls that had been bleeding in the river was badly hurt. Bad enough for the wound still to bleed, at least.

Hellboy walked up to the opening in the tunnel wall, and he cursed when he saw how narrow it was.

"Abe." The amphibian leaned in to the rock, watching it in detail. "You think you can get through there?"  
"Hardly", Abe looked doubting, and he shook his head, "my shoulders are too broad. Perhaps.." He disappeared under the surface for a moment, and then retuned. "No, it's narrower further down."

"All right, then", Hellboy fisted his huge right hand. "Can you tell me where they are?"

Blinking once, Abe slid his hand through the opening and seemed to be probing around. "There's a cave in there. The girls are on the far side of it. If you break the wall towards the left, they should be safe." Abe paused, and he seemed to be struggling with himself before he added. "Kadë's pretty much unconscious. Gloria's awake and.." he paused again, withdrawing his hand. "She seems to be all right, but take it easy with her. She got a blow to the head."

Hellboy nodded. "I will", his arm muscles tensed, and he drew a deep breath. "Step back."

Abe wasn't late to comply, and seconds later, Hellboy's fisted right hand slammed the rock so the entire ground seemed to shake.

He hit it once, twice, thrice, and on the fourth hit, stones were sent flying into the cave. Hellboy kept pounding on the opening, and soon, the hole was big enough for even him to get through.

The cave was the size of a normal bedroom, and its floor was mainly under water, except for a platform on the far wall, where the girls had crawled up.

Gloria was sitting up, leaned against the wall when they came in. Her face was pale and her hands shivering, but she smiled faintly. Leaned against her half-lay Kadë, and Abe felt his heart stop beating when he looked at her.

The Greek-Turkish girl's arms and clothes were completely covered in blood that hadn't dried due to the moistness of the air. Her skin was paper white and she looked more than unconscious.

"Don't lift me up, HB", Gloria warned when the half demon ploughed his way through the water towards her, his face as worried as Abe's must be. "No, it's nothing like that, just - my thighbone's broken."

The amphibian could hear how Hellboy let out his breath in a relieved sigh. "Anything else?" He was kneeling beside his girlfriend, and carefully helped her move Kadë, so Abe could lay her down properly.

"I don't know, really.." she seemed to hesitate, "Kadë said I got a blow to the head, and, sure, it hurts. But it also feels.. strange." She looked like she was about to shake her head, but kept from it. "Maybe it's nothing."

Abe felt a little sting of pride, and from the look on Hellboy's face, he'd felt the same. After Kadë lost consciousness Gloria had been completely alone in the cave, but she hadn't had a breakdown, and was now explaining the situation very well.

It helped. Abe managed to stay calm as he examined Kadë. She was as cold as ice and completely limp, but after checking her pulse and carefully putting his ungloved hand to the wound in her side, he felt the panic melt so much he could push it away.

"We need to get them out of here, Red", he said, his voice so calm Hellboy raised an eyebrow.

"Mhm", he grunted, and looked at his blonde girlfriend, his brow knit in a thoughtful face. "We need to stabilize Gloria's leg to move her", he looked at Abe. "You think that bandage will hold till we've gotten out of here?" Hellboy nodded in the direction of the unconscious Kadë, whose body Abe absently had taken into his arms and was holding gently.

"I think so. The cold has stilled the bleeding, so it won't be that bad." _If it wasn't for that, she'd be dead by now_. Abe shivered and shook off the thought. He thought for a moment. "If you stay here with her, I'll take Kadë out, and send Heathrow back with something to use for splints."

Hellboy nodded. He, as well, could see that Kadë - maybe not in immediate danger - was in need of warmth and proper bandaging and examining of the wound in her side.

"That'll be fine. You go." He sat down on the cave floor, and the last thing Abe saw when he lift Kadë up on his arms, was how Hellboy took Gloria's hand and kissed it, the strained and professional look falling off his face.


	6. Chapter 6

"Try to stay completely still and not think of anything." Abe slid his webbed fingers into Gloria's wet hair and concentrated. Normally, when he was in contact with living beings, he could see the stories of their lives, but now he had to think of Gloria's head as an object, which was hard.

A smile touched his lips when he realised that as fast as you tell people not to think of anything, they literally think "nothing" over and over.

There was something. Abe frowned and gently moved his fingers over the English woman's head, and when he touched whatever caught his attention, she flinched.

"I'm sorry", the amphibian withdrew his hands. "You've got a minor fracture in your skull. But it doesn't seem to have made any damage. As long as you take it easy, I think you'll be all right. Of course, I want to make an X-ray as fast as we get back to HQ to make sure there aren't any internal bleedings."

Gloria smiled. "Of course, thanks, Abe." She paused, her fingers absently caressing Hellboy's hand, which she was holding. "How's Kadë?"

The amphibian sighed, and put his hands on his thighs. "Still unconscious." It was hard staying calm and professional still, but Kadë's vitals were all right, and her pulse stronger now, so he _knew_ he had nothing to worry about, that it was only a matter of time. Yet, he felt like he was sitting on needles while waiting for her to wake up.

And maybe Hellboy's sensibility for such nuances of a person's acting wasn't so well evolved, but Gloria smiled at him.

"Don't worry, Abe. She'll be fine."

Abe nodded. "I know", he paused. "I just hate waiting."

She didn't answer, but even with his hands folded in his lap, Abe could sense the compassion radiating from her, and he shot a thankful look in Gloria's direction, before rising to walk over and talk to Heathrow, and leaving the couple alone.

Gloria let out her breath in a tired sigh and leaned back on the provisory bed made out of pillows, clothes and two of the five sleeping bags.

"Tired?" Hellboy's voice was unusually soft and low when he asked her that, and the English woman could feel how he held her hand tighter.

"Mmh.." she answered, closing her eyes for a few moments and feeling how wonderful it was. "But not too tired, if you want to talk."

She gazed out through the opening of the shade they'd put up, watching Abe as he slowly walked out, and after a few moments approached Heathrow. The two unlike men walked away, talking, but mostly out of courtesy for her and Hellboy, Gloria guessed.

"It's okay", Hellboy moved closer to her, his huge stone hand oh so gently caressing her hair. "You rest if you need to." He paused, and Gloria felt that mood that can be sensed then a person hasn't said everything that's on his mind. "I would like to know what happened, though", he finally said. "Heathrow wasn't very understandable when he came to get us."

Gloria smiled faintly. "He was shocked", she defended the bushman. "Like it wasn't enough that I'd fallen into the river with a forty feet crocodile, on top of that, Kadë dove in after me."

Hellboy shook his head. "Why'd she do that? Why didn't she just lift you out of the water again?"

His girlfriend sighed softly, and huddled a little on the pile of clothes and pillows.

"I think she was a bit shocked too", she started. "But also, I don't think she could see me. The water _is_ quite muddy, you know."

"That doesn't add up", he protested. "I've seen her stop bullets in the air and lifting things on the other side of stone walls. Six years ago, maybe, when she'd just become a field agent, but not now. She's a pro."

"So am I, but I allowed myself to be put in mortal danger thanks to some waves", Gloria replied, and he turned silent.

"It still doesn't add up", Hellboy said stubbornly after a few moments. "She diving in instead of simply lifting you out of the water, you falling in thanks to something like _that_. And when Abe herd about it all, he wanted to go straight into the water even though there was no sign of either you or Kadë. It's something strange going on here."

Gloria nodded, slowly, not to hurt her already wounded head. "I think you're right. I'd put a spell and see, but I'm too tired now.."

"Yeah, don't", he said, before letting her continue.

"..but I think you should call HQ again. Make them bring a good medium, unless Abe can scan the place."

"That's a good idea." He smiled at her. "When Kadë's woken up again, I'll bring him down there again, and make him scan the entire area. If there's nothing, we'll send for a more specific medium. After all, this ain't Abe's area of expertise."

"I know.." She sighed and closed her eyes again. And before she got the time to say anything, Hellboy's voice - once more soft and caring - talked to her.

"Rest", he said, ignoring his wish to hear the entire story for her sake. "I'll stay here and watch over you and Kadë."

Gloria smiled, her eyes still closed, and a little laughter found its way up her throat when Hellboy raised her hand in his and kissed it. Then he leaned in, kissed her lips and just sat there silently. Her hand was still in his, and he held it, preciously and gently, like a kitten.


	7. Chapter 7

Abe gripped an elbow-level branch and slowly twisted it between his hands. Keeping himself under control was hard. _Very_ hard.

Letting go, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes before realising that Heathrow was still talking.

"Oh.. um, pardon, Heathrow, I didn't catch that", he turned around and faced the crocodile hunter, his webbed fingers flying over his head.

The bushman was quiet for a moment or so, but then he shook his head.

"Never mind", he said, a little smile on his lips, "it wasn't important anyway."

Abe nodded and smiled apologetically. "I'm not usually like this", he explained, "it's got to do with Kadë being wounded." The amphibian closed his eyes and shook his head. "I've been like this every time she did something as tiny as scrape her knees ever since she was a kid. Imagine how it's become now that she's a field agent and my.. sweetheart on top of that."

"I can imagine.." Heathrow made a compassionate face. "I just said that there was a strange feeling by the river."

"Mhm?"

"When the croc came out. Even though it was _big_, I've never lost my head like that before. I _know_ they make waves when they swim, and I _know_ that they're faster than they look. Still I didn't get away from the shore, and I even let Miss McTrevor fall in."

Abe shook his head violently.

"Don't blame yourself for that, Heathrow", he said solemnly, "Gloria's probably feeling as bad for it as you are right now."

The bushman grimaced.

"But still, I was with you _not_ to let you make those kinds of elementary mistakes."

"Now that you say it.." Abe thoughtfully raised his hand in the direction of the river. "It _is_ something strange about it." He frowned and shook his head. "I can't put my finger at it, though." He paused. "Maybe later and closer up, but now, I'm kind of.. distracted."

He couldn't help it. Thinking about it, feeling his eyes seek the camp over and over to check on her, though he'd left Gloria and Hellboy alone. Kadë was _everything_ to him, and knowing that she'd been badly hurt and was now unconscious - and not being by her side - it was as unnatural and painful to him as a pin in his hip. Stinging and gnawing.

Abe sighed, covered his face in his hand and closed his eyes.

Then, there was a warm hand on his shoulder, and Heathrow the bushman was close to him, a little smile on his face.

"She'll be fine. You said it yourself, didn't you? The girl is strong, she'll manage." He let out a little laughter. "Actually, I didn't think the two of them would make it back alive. But they did. And if they managed that, one would think they'd manage to recover as well."

The amphibian lowered his hand and smiled wearily at Heathrow.

"You're right. Of course they will." He sighed. "I'm just being overprotective." With a little flash, Abe remembered all things that had happened to Kadë before they got together, and in his mind, he added "And I've got all rights to be." But instead of saying it out loud, he gazed back towards the camp. "I wonder how Gloria's doing. I _really_ hope that fracture was as tiny as it seemed."

Heathrow looked curiously at Abe's webbed hands. "Can you really 'read' things by just touching them?"

"Mmhm", the amphibian smiled at him. "But normally, I do it with persons _or_ objects. That's why I can't get a clear picture of Gloria's fracture. Her head is a part of her as a person, but I have to think of it like an object, you understand?"

"I think so", he still looked curious. "You do it.. all the time?"

"Mmno", Abe shook his head and raised his hand to watch it. "Well, I sense things almost all the time. And always when I touch things. But when I concentrate, I get more out of the reading, of course."

"You mean.."

"More details, little things that aren't majorly important, but still makes a difference."

The bushman looked like he was starting to understand.

"So, when you 'read' objects, you see..

"What's happened to it. Which people has touched it and I can recreate entire scenarios that the object has been involved in, and show them to other people by touch."

"And with people?"  
"I see the stories of their lives, and often their relatives. I tracked Gloria's family back to Morgan le Fay by a reading." He directed his palm towards Heathrow. "For example." Abe opened up his senses and let information flow inside him like a warm current through his arm, running through his veins and concentrating in his forehead, at the frontal lobe that was unique for him.

"You have aborigines on your mother's side of your family", he struggled to put words to the impressions that came along with the current. "When you were six years old, you stepped on a four inch nail and got blood poisoned, and you decided to become a crocodile hunter at the age of ten, when your little sister.. oh.." Abe lowered his hand, and slowly finished the sentence in a faint voice. "..when your little sister got her right leg bitten off by an alligator."

But Heathrow wasn't mad about the intrusion in his private life, he smiled.

"That's all right. She's got a husband and two great kids now, and it doesn't bother her at all." He frowned. "But what has the nail I stepped on got to do with it all?"

Abe chuckled.

"When I read someone or something, _everything_ the person's been through flow into me, so to say. It's hard to put into words, and I can only pick out things that catch my attention. The nail triggered strong emotions in you when it happened - pain mainly - and the emotion of the memory drew my attention." He nodded to the side. "It's actually very hard to look for something specific when I read someone."

It felt good, talking about something else. Abe was just about to bring something else about telepathy up, when he herd steps coming from the camp.

"'Ey, Blue." Hellboy's voice was low, the kind of low like when you're in a room and someone's sleeping. "Kadë's woken up. Thought you might want to see her."

Abe opened his mouth, and then he understood what Hellboy had just said.

"She's.. awake?"

"Yeah, fishhead, and asking for you. Just keep it down, Gloria's asleep."

"Of.. of course. Heathrow, please excuse me."


	8. Chapter 8

There wasn't much more than a dull pain, kept in check by liquid pain killers, that Kadë could say for sure she felt. Well, she knew she'd been taken back to the camp, and that she must be under some kind of shade, since the air seemed cooler than it should. And also, Hellboy was there. The big brother-figure had relieved a lot of her tension as she woke up, and now he'd gone to get Abe.

Tired from everything that had happened, Kadë was almost falling asleep as a hand took hers, and she recognized the pattern in the palm of her boyfriend's hand.

It held hers, that gentle way only he could achieve. Kadë had often marvelled at Abe's ability to touch things he cared for - her, mainly - like her very skin was the thinnest layer of ice, frailer than a spider's web, and how his fingers would travel over it so lightly she almost didn't feel it at all.

But he was there. Instead of the kind of touch that Gloria would give, a hand on her forehead and a careful asking about how she felt, or the way Hellboy would make an uninterested face, but yet ask her how she was, or how she got into that mess. Instead of all that, Abe's very presence was as clear as the Australian sun. He just sat there, quietly, holding her hand, but she could feel him - how he cared for her and how much he wanted her to be all right - just as much as if he'd been speaking unstoppably.

"Hey.."

At those moments, if a conversation was to be started, Kadë had to take the first step, so she did. She knew he and Hellboy had come to rescue her and Gloria. She had herd them fighting the giant crocodile, and she was wondering herself, if Abe and Hellboy were unhurt. But where Abe had his telepathic ability, where he could simply lay a finger on her and tell how she felt, she had to rely on words to speak her thoughts.

"Hi." He held her hand a little tighter. Abe never made much facial expressions, but there was a little glitter in his eyes that was equivalent to a smile. Kadë flicked her eyelids, trying to get the mist that clouded her eyes away.

"We're back at the camp? Aren't we?" Her voice was rougher than she'd expected, and she frowned when swallowing, forcing a minimal amount of saliva down her dry throat.

"Yes.." Abe sounded almost breathless. Like he still hadn't calmed down from what happened. Kadë on the other hand was dull with the faraway pain, the painkillers and probably some medicine that would make her sleep and recover. Before she managed to find words for something else, she felt his hand on her head, slowly, slowly caressing her hair. "..I was so worried."

Abe whispered, and when she looked closer at him, his bottom lip seemed to tremble just the slightest and his eyes were blanker than usual.

"Aw.." she was about to try to sit up, but the muscles in her stomach protested almost at once, and she didn't, just reached her hand towards his face, resting it against his cheek. "Don't be sad, sweetie", she could feel how Abe bit his teeth together and swallowed, "I'm all right. And so is Gloria, right?"

"Y.." Abe nodded when his voice failed him and turned into almost a hiccup.

Kadë smiled sadly and reached out her other arm too, making a begging face asking him to bend down so she could hug him.

Night had fallen, and Hellboy, finding himself tired, had finally hung up with the bureau. Walking back to the shade they'd built, he silently nodded at Heathrow, who from courtesy of the two couples had set up his own tent a few meters from them.

Abe and Kadë were asleep. Though she was the one hurt, it looked like he was the one being comforted, as he lay with his head on her shoulder, hand resting lightly on her waist, and her arms around him.

Hellboy squatted beside Gloria. She had pulled off the blanket during the afternoon heat, but it was growing colder so he spent a few minutes pulling it up and tugging the edges in, gently not to wake her up.

For some reason, people always seemed surprised at their relationship. Like they thought that the kind and a little motherly person of the short and blonde Gloria was a much too good person for someone as rough and rude as Hellboy.

They were probably right.

But thing was, he loved her. And from all that he understood, she loved him too. Hellboy's lips curled into a little smile where he sat beside her when Gloria turned in her sleep, stretching her neck and her mouth falling open in a way that looked both a little retarded and very adorable.

He sat down on the ground, leaning his back against the tree they had fastened the roof of the shade to and looked down at her.

She was sleeping soundlessly, her breaths making one of the blonde locks move on and off before her face, and her arm was twisted into a position that no doubt would make her sore the next morning.

Shaking his head, Hellboy leaned forwards. The fingers of his right hand had to streak the hair away four or five times before he got all the strands, and when he stretched out her arm into a more comfortable position, Gloria made a funny little sound that got him grinning in the dark.

You're just adorable sometimes, he thought, resting his hand against her head. And then, he leaned closer to her, at first just sitting there, his face an inch from hers, but then he kissed her forehead lightly and straightened up again, resting his head against the tree to sleep. And when Gloria's face came out of Hellboy's shadow, her mouth had closed, and she was smiling in her sleep.

Fin

**Author's comments:**

That's it. ~

The girls are fine and the boys saved the day. I'm afraid I overdid the cuddling in the end, but I can't help it. I like writing things like that, even though I'm ridiculously proud over the fight against the big crocodile. ^^

However, I'm thinking about writing an epilogue that will explain the anomaly that made everyone act so irrationally. Good idea?

However, thanks for reading! Will be back soon with more stories and more background for Hellboy and Abe, and their girls.

Oceans of love! ~


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